Friday, June 10, 2011

Rana Convicted, But No Justice For Mumbai Terror Victims

Chicago, June 10, 2011 - Chicago resident Tahawwur Hussain Rana was found guilty yesterday on two counts of terrorism related to the 2008 massacre in Mumbai, India (the "26/11 attack," Nov. 26, 2008). However, the federal jury found him not guilty of actually helping to plot the terror operation. Rana was convicted for "providing material support to a terror conspiracy" and to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a terrorist group based in Pakistan. Lashkar-e-Taiba means "army of the righteous."
The charges against Rana included an attack (later abandoned) against the Copenhagen newspaper that ran cartoons mocking Muhammad. "But," reports the Wall Street Journal, "Thursday’s verdict on Tahawwur Hussain Rana, 50, found him not guilty in helping plan the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks."
Rana could be sentenced for up to 30 years in prison for helping Lashkar-e-Taiba plan an attack on that Danish newspaper. AFP reports that jury "found there was insufficient evidence that Rana was involved in the Mumbai attacks that saw 166 people killed - even though a key figure described how he had used Rana's business offering immigration services as a cover while conducting surveillance in India's financial capital." More at World News Australia...
India has expressed official disappointment with the acquittals. Secretary (Internal Security) in the Ministry of Home Affairs, U.K. Bansal, said today that India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) will decide soon whether they will file charges against Rana in India. They were waiting until the Chicago trial ended before proceeding. More at The Hindu...
“It may be recalled that evidence was produced in the U.S. court that David Headley had advised Rana of his assignment to scout potential targets in India,” said a statement from India’s home ministry. “We are, therefore, disappointed that Rana was acquitted on the count of conspiracy to provide material support to the Mumbai terrorist attacks.”
Headley pleaded guilty in March, 2010 to 12 terror-related charges. He admitted to scouting out locations for the Mumbai attacks. He "testified in the Rana case that his friend assisted him. In return, U.S. prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty," reports WSJ's India Real Time.
Rana, 50, is a Canadian citizen who was living in the Chicago neighborhood of West Ridge (or "West Rogers Park")at the time of the murder spree at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. West Rogers Park is heavily populated by Pakistanis and other Muslims. It is a hub of criminal plotting. It's no wonder that Rana found refuge here.
West Ridge is home to the infamous 2008 Sunrise Equities scandal. Hundreds of investors lost their life savings in a scheme by Salman Ibrahim and his partners, who fled in the middle of the night. Most of those investors were Muslims and trusted Ibrahim's "shariah compliant" firm to help them make money. Ibrahim and his Sunrise Equities conspirators are still fugitives, and have close ties to Barack Hussein Obama. (See Obama's Sunrise Equities Office and Illinois Meat Plant Owner Charged With Financing Terrorists.)
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